AlphaMark Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

AlphaMark Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,369 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 987 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 0.9% of AlphaMark Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. AlphaMark Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,867,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its position in Apple by 20.0% during the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 2,615,701 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $456,728,000 after purchasing an additional 435,891 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the first quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 240,628 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,016,000 after buying an additional 1,040 shares during the period. Markel Corp increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the first quarter. Markel Corp now owns 1,206,990 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $210,752,000 after buying an additional 8,450 shares during the period. Camden Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 9.2% in the first quarter. Camden Capital LLC now owns 156,364 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $27,305,000 after purchasing an additional 13,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Island Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the first quarter. Harbor Island Capital LLC now owns 135,325 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $23,629,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,622 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total value of $7,215,515.02. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,444 shares in the company, valued at $22,569,202.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 56,072 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.17, for a total transaction of $9,261,412.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $541,766,188.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,622 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total transaction of $7,215,515.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,569,202.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 439,529 shares of company stock worth $71,703,657. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.1 %

AAPL opened at $175.16 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.17 and a 52 week high of $176.39. The company has a market capitalization of $2.76 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The iPhone maker reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $94.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.84 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.49% and a return on equity of 165.72%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 4th that permits the company to repurchase $90.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Apple from $170.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on Apple from $174.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 5th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, February 6th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Apple from $173.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 5th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Apple from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.74.

Apple Company Profile

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Apple, Inc engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and other varieties of related services. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, Greater China, Japan, and Rest of Asia Pacific. The Americas segment includes North and South America.